Migrant workers filling labour gaps – Hamilton

…says Govt developing policy to govern influx

The Government is developing a comprehensive migrant labour policy to regulate the influx of skilled foreign workers as the country faces an increasing demand across various sectors, including construction, hospitality, healthcare, and mining, the demand for skilled labor has surpassed local supply.
This was confirmed by Labour Minister, Joseph Hamilton, who underscored the need to balance economic expansion with opportunities for local workers.
Highlighting the Home Affairs Ministry’s frequent processing of work permits for a steady influx of migrants, particularly from Venezuela, Cuba, Haiti, and other nations, Hamilton emphasised that while migrant labour is not a new phenomenon in Guyana, the current scale of demand necessitates well-structured policies to manage its impact effectively. This underscores the urgent need for a comprehensive migrant labour policy.
In an interview with this publication via telephone on Monday, the minister explained that as Guyana positions itself as a key player in the global energy and infrastructure sectors, maintaining a balance between local employment and migrant labour will be a critical challenge in the coming years.
“We have hundreds, maybe thousands of migrants in Guyana who have a work permit, and some of them from places who got to get visas, who have a visa and work permit to work in Guyana, who are recommended, who are given jobs by companies of all different types. Whether in tourism or hospitality, whether in construction, whether in manufacturing, they are here”.
“What is happening now in the case of Guyana, is that because of the great expansion of the country, the discussion is now centering on how you expand migrants coming to Guyana to work. Whether you allow them to work as per projects, in sectors like they do in the United States, where they have the farm project. So that is a conversation, and it’s not a Guyana conversation, it’s a CARICOM conversation,” the Minister said.
Discussions are ongoing at the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) level to create a regional framework for the movement of skilled workers among member states.
Hamilton explained that Guyana’s national policy on migrant labour will be informed by CARICOM’s regional discussions and best practices- an approach which seeks to create a structured and sustainable framework that benefits both the local workforce and economic development.
“At a level, CARICOM, they’re discussing about having established a roster of all the technical people in every jurisdiction, so we can loan technical people to our sister countries. Because you might have more engineers at one place, and Guyana might need engineers so that jurisdiction can lend us…And now that you have CARICOM discussing the matter, Guyana is waiting on that conversation and the recommendations and the proposals. And within that framework, we will establish our own procedure regarding the issue of migrant labor coming to Guyana,” Hamilton disclosed.
Despite concerns over job competition, Hamilton emphasised that Guyanese workers must seize available training opportunities to remain competitive.
Nevertheless, he reassured that government remains committed to prioritising local employment through training and regional collaboration, among others.
“We are doing several projects. So, the Oko West G-Mining project is just one. Wednesday, we will launch a project to train 20 Guyanese women, two from each region, as PV, solar panel technicians, and that maintenance person funded by the IDB. Another project will be launched to deal with regions 1,7 and 8 that will be funded by the Canadian, I think, $8.7 million Canadian dollars. That program will be launched at the Tosha Council Office on Wednesday. And we have done projects funded by IDB and we are, right now, doing projects, executing projects funded by Basic Needs Trust Fund, so that will continue,” he revealed.